Wooden box



Aug. 20, 1940. E. 1'. JOHNSON WOODEN BOX Filed Feb. 19, 1937,

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 3.

FIG.2.-'

INVENTOR EDWARD r JOHNSON ATTO R N EY Au 20, 1940. E. T. JOHNSON 2,211,853

WOODEN BOX Fi 1ed Feb. 19, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY I Patented Aug. 20, 1940 UNITE STATES WO0DEN 130x 7 Edward T. Johnson, Greenfield, Mass, assign or to The-New England Box Company, Greenfield,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 19, 1937, Serial No; 126,539

'2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in wooden boxes and more particularly the type employed in the handling and transportation of bottles. Y

Bottle boxes are ordinarily subjected to long and severe usage. In the course of time it is found that the nails ordinarily used to secure the bottoms to the side and end walls work loose and if no other means were provided the entire bottom would eventually be in danger of dropping off under the weight of the bottles. To overcome this danger it has been customary to provide metal straps at the ends of boxes of this character, these straps receiving the load from the bottom after the nails become loosened; However, strapping of this sort is quite expensive and, furthermore, due to the flexibility of the metal of which the straps are formed they havelittle effect in venting the loosening of the nails.

It has been an object of the present invention to produce a somewhat lighter and less expensive bottle box than one of the strapped type and one which is stronger than the strapped type. For this purpose there is employed in lieu of the strapping, a pair of relatively stiff and sturdy, but light, wires which extend beneath the bottom of the box at its ends and are firmly attached to the walls of the box. This construction has the advantage not only of lightness and cheapness but 3 also added strength. The stiffness of the wire enables it to distribute a blow imparted to the bottom at any point so that theblow does not have as great a tendency as in a strapped box to loosen the nail or nails closest tothat point. Moreover,

" the wires are not affected by the swelling or shrinkage of the wood, as are the straps of a strapped box due to the manner of attachment. The likelihood of injury-to the hands of persons handling boxes is also reduced by the new construction. g

Another object of the invention has been to strengthen the top of a bottle box to the point where it is commensurate with the strength of the box at other points. .Boxes of this sort are ordinarily made of soft wood, such as pine, and it is found that in use the stacking of one box on another tends to weaken and eventually destroy the upper edges of the sides of the box.

By the present invention this is overcome through the employment of a composite side construction which places a hardwood edge at the top of .each side and also each end, if desired. In this way wear is greatly reduced at the top of the box and 55: its, life is very materially increased At the same pretime the danger of receiving splinters in the'hand ling of the box is minimized- Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description of an illustrative form of'the same which will now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective'view of a box embodying the invention, with a portion of one side broken away.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged end view of one of the lower corners of the box. I

Fig. 3 is a vertical section along the line 33 of Figure'Z, and

Figs. 4 1508, inclusive, are views similar to Figure 3' showing a number of modifications.

Referring now to the drawings, the illustrative box comprises a pair of end walls Hi and II, a pair'of side walls l2 and I3, and a bottom' I4. The side and'end wallsare preferably'secured by means of a lock corner construction in which interfitting projections l5 and I6, on the sides and ends respectively, are glued together. Each wall of the box, and the bottom also, may be formed of a series of separate sections, preferably fitted together'by an ordinary tongue and groove 7 construction, or by a dovetail construction, such as indicated at IT in Figure 3 or by any other suitable arrangement, and glued. In a typical iorm'o-f box the side walls and bottom may suitably be formed of half inch lumber while the end walls are preferably heavier, say three-quarquarter inch lumber or even heavier. It will be understood, of course, that this is mentioned merely by way of example and that the invention may be applied to boxes formed of other types or thicknesses of wood.

The entire box may, if desired, be formed of softwood, such as pine, but to increase the strength of the box at its normally weak point, i. e. the upper edges of the side walls, I prefer to form the top sections of these walls of hardwood; For example, the top section l3 of'each side wall, having a width of, say, two or three inches and extending along the entire top of the wall, may be of hardwood. This section prefera-'- bly has an interfitting connection with the rest of the wall similar to that indicated at IT, or of any other suitable form. Similar hardwood'sections might be employed at the tops of the end walls also, if desired, but due to the extra thickness of these walls it is not so important that they have hardwood tops. Should hardwood tops be provided at the ends, the entire ends or merely the hardwood sections thereof might be formed of thinner stock, similar to the side walls. A box having hardwood top edges along its walls, in the manner explained, will be found considerably more durable than the ordinary softwood box and the small added expense is more than compensated by the increased life of the box.

Suitable handgrip openings [9 of any appropriate form may be provided in the end walls.

The bottom I4 is preferably somewhat narrower than the end walls so that a slight gap 20 is provided between the side walls and the edges of the bottom. This not only allows for the free drainage of water which might otherwise accumulate in the box but it also simplifies the problem of securing the bottom in accordance with the invention. A series of nails 2| may be provided along each end of the bottom to secure it to the end walls. These nails, however, are inadequate to retain the bottom in place during prolonged use of the box since the dropping of bottles or the like onto the bottom would very quickly loosen the nails and there would be danger of the entire bottom dropping off. The nails are, nevertheless, of good assistance in retaining the bottom particularly as against edgewise movement. If this function is not considered important the nails might be omitted, or in any event they might be replaced by other equivalent fastening means or by adhesive means.

To reinforce the attachment of the bottom and definitely prevent its separation, even after continued hard usage, a wire 22 is employed adjacent each end. This wire is relatively stiiflbut bendable to a desired shape under suilicient force. It is preferably formed of galvanized iron with a circular cross-section of a diameter of about an eighth of an inch. However, other materials might be employed and the size of the wire may be varied, depending upon the nature and intended use of the box. Moreover, the wire might be other than circular in cross-section as, for example, square or hexagonal or elliptical, either throughout its length or only in part, such as the part that extends across the bottom. In order to retain the wire firmly and in a definite position on the bottom the latter may appropriately be formed with a groove 23 in its under surface, adjacent each end. As best shown in Figure 3, the groove is preferably arranged substantially in line with the inner face of the end wall and is of a depth just sufiicient to place the entire wire inside of the plane of the under face of the bottom. If desired, the groove might be made somewhat shallower so that the wire will protrude slightly and serve as a transverse skid on which the box may be slid.

At each side of the bottom the wire 22 is bent through an angle of slightly more than 90 so as to provide an elbow 24 forming an arcuate angle. The upwardly extending portions of the wire are then bent through an angle of 90 to provide portions 25 disposed perpendicularly to the plane of the previously described portions of the Wire. These portions 25 are passed through small open ings 26 in the end wall of the box and the projecting ends of the wire may then be bent downwardly and pressed against the end of the box, as indicated at 21 in Figure 3.

It will be apparent that the gap 20 at each side of the bottom provides a convenient opening through which the upright portion of the wire may be passed. In the construction of the box the walls and bottom are first assembled and secured in the manner explained and then the wires, which have previously been bent, are

sprung apart at their upper free ends and these are passed through the gaps 20; then the projections 25 are forced through the openings 26 and the ends 21 are finally bent down in any convenient way. For this purpose a pair of rollers might be used on the inside of the box to hold the wires in place while other rollers on the outside serve to bend the ends over. If the bottom of the box extends the full width of the box, so that no gaps 20 are provided, suitable openings may be formed through the bottom adjacent the ends for the passage of the upright portions of the wires.

In lieu of extending the ends of the wires through the end wall they may be passed through suitable openings in the side walls. For this purpose the portions 25 will be bent in the same plane as the other portions of the wire. Moreover, in this case the wires need not be so close to the ends of the box. If desired, wires may be employed, as shown, to extend through the ends of the box and one or more other wires may extend through the side walls of the box at points intermediate the ends. Or the wires may b arranged to extend lengthwise of the box and have their ends secured to either the side or end walls.

The length of the upright portions of the wire may be varied to suit convenience in the manufacture of the box. A length of about 3 inches will be found quite satisfactory and less expen sive than longer uprights. However, should it be desired to pass the wires through hardwood, which may be provided at the tops of the ends or sides, the upright portions may need to be somewhat longer.

In Figures 4 to 8 inclusive there is illustrated avariety of different means for securing the ends of the wires in place and preventing their withdrawal. Figure 4 shows the end 28 of the Wire pointed so that it may be driven like a nail through the wall 29 of the box. Moreover, with this arrangement the pointed end of the wire may be forced more readily into the outer face of the wall when it is bent over. It will be understood that both ends of the wire will ordinarily be formed in the same way. This applies to all of the modifications although, if desired, the two ends of the wire might have different formations.

Figure 5 illustrates the possibility of flattening the end 30 of the wire prior to bending it over against the face of the box wall. This flattening operation will be performed after the wire has been passed through the opening 3| in the wall and it will greatly assist in preventing the withdrawal of the wire since it will be broader than the diameter of the opening.

According to Figure 6 the extreme end 32 of the wire may be provided with a small hole 33. A washer 34 is slipped over the end of the wire after it has been passed through the opening 35 in the wall of the box and the end is then turned over or flattened against the washer in the manner of a tubular rivet.

In Figure 7 the end 36 of the wire is shown flattened against a washer 3'! in the manner of an ordinary rivet.. The blunt or slightly tapered end of the wire is simply passed through an opening 38, the washer applied and. the end of the wire then peened over.

Figure 8 shows a wire having its end split into two sections 39 and 40. After this split end is passed through the opening 4! in the box wall the sections 39 and 40 are bent over in opposite directions against the outer face of the wall.

If desired, the box may be provided with partitions of any suitable character to retainbottles in appropriately spaced relation. These partitions may be formed of wood, in which case they may fit into grooves in the walls, or they may be formed of metal, paper, or pasteboard or other suitable material. If paper or pasteboard partitions are used they may be inserted loosely and discarded at will.

While an illustrative form of the invention has been shown and described in considerable detail and certain modifications and additions have been suggested it will be understood that various other modifications and additions may also be made without departing from the general principles and scope of the invention. Moreover, while the box has been particularly described with reference to the handling and transportation of bottles it will be understood that it is capable of use for a variety of other purposes. The terms and expressions employed herein are to be regarded as terms of description-and not of limitation.

What is claimed is:

l. A box having side and end walls, and a bottom, said bottom extending beneath the end walls but terminating slightly inwardly of the side walls, means for preventing sidewise and endwise shifting of said bottom relative to the walls, and means for attaching'said bottom to the Walls comprising a plurality of wires extending completely across said bottom beneath the same, thence along the inner surfaces of the end walls at acute angles to the portions beneath said bottom, and having their ends passed through said end walls and secured to prevent withdrawal therefrom.

2. A box having side and end walls and a bottom, said bottom extending beneath the end walls but terminating slightly inwardly of the side walls and having grooves in its lower surface extending transversely thereof and substantially in line with the inner surfaces of adjacent end walls, means for preventing sidewise and endwise shifting of said bottom relative to the walls, and means for attaching said bottom to the Walls comprising a plurality of wires extending completely across the bottom in said grooves, thence along the inner surfaces of the end walls at acute angles to the portions in said grooves, and having their ends passed through said end walls and secured to prevent withdrawal therefrom.

EDWARD T. JOHNSON. 

